You Snooze, You Lose
by Wanda Jankowski, Editor-in-Chief

Years ago, a magazine I worked on was one of several that were under the management of a very successful Group Publisher who was a character. Everywhere he went, he always seemed to have an entourage around him, usually a couple of his financial numbers keepers from the accounting department, promoting his “celebrity” aura. He was very tall, a bit on the big-boned, beefy side and tough talking. His vocabulary was regularly peppered with pithy adages one would be more inclined to expect from an old-time, streetwise salesman, rather than from this 30-something go-getter with a sweet, boyish face.

“He’s a vest pocket,” he’d say about a close business friend. “He’s a suede shoe” referenced a slippery client. And in an era in which relationships really counted when it came to manufacturers making decisions to advertise, “No face, no [ad] space,” was an often-heard mantra from his lips.

My favorite saying, lightheartedly mimicked by one or two sales associates on my magazine’s staff when called for by the occasion, was the ubiquitous “You snooze, you lose.” That saying aptly pertains to the topic of our annual, exclusive “State Of The Industry” report on the economy and how it is affecting the expansion and evolution of the industry.

Suppliers and retailers that snoozed and allowed weaknesses in their businesses to flourish before the recession stood no chance of survival when the downturn finally hit. Those firms that saw big changes coming and acted flexibly and quickly have survived to do business another day.

Once we got talking to the more than 30 companies included in the report, it became clear that cutting costs and streamlining was more a basic given than a key to success. Thinking of new ways to bring product to market and new customers to go after—creating opportunities and innovations—was the means to unlocking the recession’s hold.

In order to keep you from snoozing and losing, the “State Of The Industry” report includes some fresh resources from September’s New York Home Fashions Market along with the experts’ insights. Combine this with companies cited in our SMART report on eco-friendly products, the High Point market preview and the glimpse into color palettes for the coming year and you’ll find that this issue offers you more than 70 resources for new products and business information.

So keep reading, keep moving forward, because even when the economy begins to recover, if you snooze, you lose.